An interview with Gregory Green in his installation on Sunday.
WCBS Radio Caroline
The voice of the New Free State of Caroline 96.7fm Portland Oregon.
A .5 watt "pirate" radio station for the period of 09/06/09 -12/13/09 stationed in the Hoffman Gallery at Lewis and Clark College.

What's more, Green Oregon is a tightly curated show in a interesting space with some excellent artists
like Robert Adams, Patrick Rock, Justin "Scrappers" Morrison, PORT's
own Ryan Pierce, Marne Lucas and the region's dean of eco art Bruce Conkle,
etc. For me Bailey Winter's painting is the standout. It is anguished
over the environment, just plain weird... conjuring both David Lynch and John Wesley and most likely extremely
stoned. The effect is troubling, frank, omnipresent and a bit overwhelming...
which is exactly like having a discussion about ecology and art the related
to it in Oregon. Check it out.

The Manuel Izquierdo Gallery is located in PNCA's 3D Building (825 NW 13th)
and will be open Thursday - Sunday, 1pm to 5PM or by appointment. (hint ring
the buzzer)

Though 1st thursday's openings were a bit conservative this month (lacking the excitement and sales of new artists like Eva Speer and PORT's Ryan Pierce last month... except Chambers) shows like Matt King at Fourteen30, Damien Gilley and Ethan Rose at Gallery Homeland and Stephen Slappe etal. at The Art Gym made for memorable openings that would have added "zing" my recent New York trip. Nice to know Portland still stacks up and is showcasing interesting new talent.

House of Sound NAAU opening 3-7-2009An excerpt of the Winter Solstice Puppet Collective's performance last night for the packed opening of Vanessa Renwick's House of Sound. The Evolutionary Jass Band is providing the live soundtrack.

White Noise opening at Worksound, where the crowd became a kind of white noise itself

Normally, PORT doesn't care that much for parties that make it impossible to see the show, but this packed feel good get together shows just what a diverse crowd a warehouse show in Portland's art scene can bring. Lets see: lots of artists, too many hipster party goers, some professors and a few major patrons can be seen here. It looks like a nice show and I'll come back later to check out curator/artist Jhordan Dahl's handiwork when I can actually see the show. Till then enjoy this video art scene rollercoaster.

Overall, a gloriously absurd exercise... especially the live interview between Mack McFarland and Kate Mondlach taking place within the studio less than 40 feet from the TV's. For more context here's Amy's review of the BYOTV show at NAAU.

Portland's art scene just keeps getting more (and better) alternative spaces, here were a few of the openings from 1st Thursday and First Friday. Needless to say The Everett Station Lofts have really become an interesting enclave once again after their previous heyday in 2003. It also reminds me why it's ridiculous to try to contain all of this activity under one roof (it can't be done)... Portland is better off with 30 interesting spaces rather than 1 large ponderous space that tries to be everything to everyone.

Igloo Gallery @ the Everett Station Lofts, First Thursday April 3rd:

Igloo, though tiny has turned into one one of the most energetic new spaces in Portland. In general the Everett Station lofts make the Pearl ditrict look tame... all you have to do is cross NW Broadway to catch these spaces which are open much later.

Portland has a very active art scene that continues to expand... blah blah.. you know this already.

I also think last weekend was the first time in recent memory that First Friday/Saturday competed on all fronts with First Thursday. Here were some highlights.

The second iteration of FWD: Dudes Night Out at Gallery Homeland (here's a review of #1) was yet another sprawling group show... it's forgivable since it was a last minute addition when March's orginal show needed a bit more time. These shows are mixers for the artists more than anything else and allow them to debut new ideas and get critical feeback (from one another). They are generally good for taking the pulse of things but solo shows are where the big statements are made...(more)

Solid as ever and always changing, Tom Cramer is a bit of a Portland institution (with all the murals, cars, gallery shows and set designs) and after writing reviews and an essay 2 years ago I felt Tom himself might be the best one to introduce his latest show at his new gallery, Laura Russo.

At this point in Tom's career a museum survey is about all the more he needs, the work is still jaw dropping, still selling like hotcakes to collectors (for more than before) and still evolving. As an artist he's shown no signs of running out of steam and he's an important bridge between the old Portland art scene (Milton Wilson, Clifford Gleason, C.S. Price) and the newest version streaming in from all parts of the globe.

That said, just another review or yet another chat with Tom interview seemed less interesting than this little introduction to what is different and new in his latest work.